Our first day we went to Mato to visit some health volunteers. One of their biggest projects was a "Cocina Mejorada" project, which basically is an improved cooking stove. A lot of people cook over wood, which causes the black lung basically...so the idea of improved cooking stoves is to get rid of the smoke. We did house visits and talked to families who had just recieved "cocina mejoradas." The family we talked to was so nice, that they brought us hot corn from their fields in the evening. Later in the day, we were able to get our hands dirty, and I mean dirty, by building a "cocina mejorada" ourselves by using mud and adobe bricks. My job was to spread the mud around with my hands...brought me back to my childhood when I used to make mud pies. Yum Yum.
The next day we did some more house visits, only this time we talked about child stimulation with mothers who had small children. The two families I visited couldn´t have been more different. The first one had two little children, but the mom had a hard time speaking spanish, even our technical trainer had a hard time understanding. What was so sad about the first family was that the 4 year old daughter was not going to be allowed to go to school becuase they thought the paint in the school would make her sick. They didn´t have water or sewage either, so it was pretty tough to saying goodbye. The other family we visited was the exact opposite. They had a cocina mejorada, water, sewage and the mom seemed to very open minded about talking to us. I showed them a mobile I had made from a plastic bottle, and her one year old loved it, so I let them keep it. We showed her some more examples of easy, inexpensive toys she could make for her child and she seemed really excited. I really appreciated doing these house visits becuase I could really see how much affect I could have on people. In the afternoon, we worked with a group of teenagers and did arts and crafts! And the day ended with pizza and a hot shower in Caraz...I couldn´t have been happier...
Our last day, we visited up to Musho and visited another health volunteer who has been working on building latrines in his community. Musho was situated right next to Huascaron, the tallest tropical mountain in the world! Just picture snow capped mountains, rolling greens hills, and me playing with the baby lambs (Really, I did!) It was unbelievable, the view we had. We helped dig ditches so that they could connect to the sewage network in town. First time I handled a pick, but I thought I did quite nicely. We also took a short hike to see other types of latrines in the town, and even got to hear some Quechua, the indigenous language in Peru. We even got to sample cuy from the sierra. Mine was complete with a little claw and I was really tempted to bring it with me, but I resisted...ha...We left Musho in the afternoon and headed back to Huaraz, the capital of Ancash, to hang out and wait for our night bus of which we returned early this morning.
So all and all, I had a wonderful FBT. I got to see more of the country and definitely got a better grasp on what my job will entail in a few weeks, which I feel better about now. Now I get to wait one more week until I find out where I´m going for the next 2 years. I´m excited and nervous all into one...since this la-la land of being with gringos and going to school is almost over. It´s almost time for the real adventure to begin...wish me luck.
Now for some photos from these past couple of weeks...
This is a picture from the parade I went to in Chosica. There was a lot of traditional dresses and dances of Peru. Plus, they threw candy at the crowd :)
Me saying hello to my little friend. This little guy was in the Ceviche that we had. Quite tasty!
We visited a "Wawa Wasi" outside of Lima, which is a Quechua word for daycare center....more or less.
One of the other volunteer´s mom making Picharones and hamburgers for us! Found out that Peruvians like to put french fries on top of their hamburgers....excellent!
The Health group getting excited to learn about Cuy at La Agraria. This is where we go every Saturday and learn different agriculture techniques.
This is the one year old´s birthday party that I attended. I realized that Peruvians really do take birthday´s seriously...
Our health group put on a Feria de Salud (Health fair) at a small health center. Our group did "Comida Complementaria" (Complementary food), so we demonstrated how to mash up baby food and talk about the importance.
Cuy, it´s what´s for dinner...
Me and my host family celebrating my host father´s birthday. I was so glad to be eating meat, that I had seconds AND thirds. My family was quite impressed.
Okay doke, that is all for now. I will be putting up my pictures of Ancash soon, so don´t worry. Also, I just recived my cell phone in Peru. I will put it up on my blog, but I´m pretty sure it´s really expensive to call me...but just in case you feel the urge, it is there. Love you all and miss you dearly! Hope you had a fun Halloween!
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hey annie! crazy that you all are on your way to your sites today! that means we're not the freshies anymore!!! jaja :) good luck and hope it all goes well in Cajamarca. cuidate!
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